Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/713,399

PARALELL HEAT EXCHANGER FOR DATA CENTER COOLING

Non-Final OA §112
Filed
May 24, 2024
Examiner
DUKE, EMMANUEL E
Art Unit
3763
Tech Center
3700 — Mechanical Engineering & Manufacturing
Assignee
Nortek Air Solutions Canada, Inc.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
68%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 9m
To Grant
96%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 68% — above average
68%
Career Allow Rate
776 granted / 1133 resolved
-1.5% vs TC avg
Strong +28% interview lift
Without
With
+27.7%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 9m
Avg Prosecution
27 currently pending
Career history
1160
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.5%
-39.5% vs TC avg
§103
51.0%
+11.0% vs TC avg
§102
27.6%
-12.4% vs TC avg
§112
17.7%
-22.3% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1133 resolved cases

Office Action

§112
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 . 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. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a): (a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention. The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112: The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention. Claims 6-13 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention. Regarding claims 6 and 20; the limitation, “a second cooling liquid circuit” appears to lack support in the application as originally filed. Claims 1 and 15, from which claims 6 and 20 depend from, respectively, lack disclosure for a first cooling liquid circuit. Secondly, the present application does not further disclose how “an external liquid cooler is configured to cool a second cooling liquid circulating through the second cooling liquid circuit; wherein the first cooling component is fluidly connected to the second cooling liquid circuit and configured to use the second cooling liquid in the second cooling liquid circuit to cool the first air stream”, as recited in claim 6. Thus, the present disclosure does not provide details on how one of ordinary skill in the art would ensure these limitations. 2. 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 11 is 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. In claim 11, line 6, the phrase “a temperature of the outdoor air” is confusing as it is unclear how it relates to previously recited “a temperature of the outdoor air” in claim 10 line 10. Allowable Subject Matter 3. Claims 1-5 and 14-19 are allowed. Conclusion 4. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US-20180128510-A1 to LePoudre; Philip Paul. US-20120024502-A1 to Khalifa; Hussein Ezzat US-20180192552-A1 to TAN; Xianguang US-20180135880-A1 to Ghadiri Moghaddam; Davood. US-20140260369-A1 to LePoudre; Philip Paul. US-20100275618-A1 to Beitelmal; Abdlmonem. US-20030037905-A1 to Weng, Kuo-Liang. WO-2015192249-A1 to MOGHADDAM DAVOOD GHADIRI Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to EMMANUEL E DUKE whose telephone number is (571)270-5290. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday thru Friday; 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM Monday thru Friday; 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM. 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. 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. /EMMANUEL E DUKE/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3763 01/29/2026. /FRANTZ F JULES/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3763
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Prosecution Timeline

May 24, 2024
Application Filed
Jan 29, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §112 (current)

Precedent Cases

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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
68%
Grant Probability
96%
With Interview (+27.7%)
2y 9m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1133 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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