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Claims 1-11 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.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 2/02/2026.
Applicant’s election without traverse of Species B (figs 21-28) in the reply filed on 2/02/2026 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.
Claims 19-22 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.
Claims 19-22 recites the limitation "the end cap". There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claims 21 recites the limitation " the bent tab of the end cap at a position corresponding to the tank side ". There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claims 21 recites the limitation " the bent tab at a position corresponding to the header side ". There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
The remaining claims are rejected based on their dependency from a claim that has been rejected.
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 (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 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 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) 12-15, 18-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Samuelson US 2010/0300667 Al in view of Seo et al. US 2013/0180695 Al.
Re claim 12, Samuelson teach a heat exchanger comprising: a tank (3) having an opened lower side; a header (enlarged right portion fig 2), the header configured to define a space, in which a heat exchange medium is stored and flows, by being coupled to the tank;
a baffle (26) coupled to an outer side of the tank and an outer side of the header to cover and block an opened side of an assembly made by coupling the tank and the header , the baffle having an opening penetrating two opposite surfaces of the baffle (fig 2);
and a nozzle (24, 66, 28) having an insertion portion having at least a part formed in a shape corresponding to an inner shape of the tank, the insertion portion being inserted and coupled into an inner side defined by the tank and the header (fig 2).
Samuelson fail to explicitly teach header details.
Seo et al. teach a tank having an opened lower side; a header into which the opened lower side of the tank is inserted for header assembly (para 55, ).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to include header details as taught by Seo et al. in the Samuelson invention in order to advantageously allow for better bonding and reliability.
Re claim 13, Samuelson teach wherein an upper side of the insertion portion of the nozzle is in contact with an inner peripheral surface of the tank, and a lower side of the insertion portion is in contact with and supported by an inner peripheral surface of the header (annotated fig).
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Re claim 14, Samuelson teach wherein an upper side of the opening of the baffle is formed to correspond to an inner peripheral surface of the tank, and a lower side of the opening is formed in a curved shape connected to the upper side without a level difference (figs, noting the level difference is broad and depends on orientation, and the hole extends in one horizontal plane ).
Re claim 15, Samuelson teach wherein the baffle has a bent tab extending and bent from a periphery toward an outer surface of the tank and an outer surface of the header (figs).
Re claim 18, Samuelson teach wherein the nozzle further comprises a pipe connection portion (72) extending from the insertion portion and having a larger diameter of the insertion portion (figs 2-3).
Re claim 19, Seo et al. teach wherein the tank and the header are formed in two rows, the baffle is coupled to one of the two rows, and the end cap (31, 32), which has a shape in which two opposite surfaces are blocked, is coupled to the other of the two rows at a position corresponding to the baffle and coupled to an opened outer side of an assembly made by coupling the tank and the header (fig 2) for header assembly (para 55).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to include header details as taught by Seo et al. in the Samuelson invention in order to advantageously allow for better bonding and reliability.
Claim(s) 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Samuelson US 2010/0300667 Al in view of Seo et al. US 2013/0180695 Al and Jeon US 20130312454 A1.
Re claim 16, Samuelson, as modified, fail to explicitly teach tab details.
Jeon teach wherein the bent tab of the baffle (150) is provided as a plurality of bent tabs (fig 5), and the bent tab of the baffle at a position corresponding to the tank side and the bent tab positioned at the position corresponding to the header side are disposed to be spaced apart from each other (fig 5) to accommodate the different width portions of the header.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to include tab details as taught by Jeon in the Samuelson, as modified, invention in order to advantageously allow for improved heat exchanger performance.
Claim(s) 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Samuelson US 2010/0300667 Al in view of Seo et al. US 2013/0180695 Al and Lim US 20140069136 A1.
Re claim 17, Samuelson, as modified, fail to explicitly teach tab details.
Jeon teach wherein a catching projection protrudes from an inner surface of the header, and a lower end of the tank is in contact with and supported by the catching projection (annotated fig) to accommodate header construction .
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to include tab details as taught by Jeon in the Samuelson, as modified, invention in order to advantageously allow for improved heat exchanger performance with greater stability.
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Claim(s) 20-22 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Samuelson US 2010/0300667 Al in view of Seo et al. US 2013/0180695 Al and KR ‘698 KR 10-2014-0095698, as cited on the IDS.
Re claim 20, Samuelson, as modified, fail to explicitly teach baffle details.
KR ‘698 teach wherein the end cap (middle 440) has a bent tab extending and bent from a periphery toward an outer surface of the tank and an outer surface of the header (fig 8, noting that according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the plain meaning of ‘tab’ is
1
a
: a short projecting device: such as
(1)
: a small flap or loop by which something may be grasped or pulled
(2)
: a projection from a card used as an aid in filing
b
: a small insert, addition, or remnant
c
: appendage, extension ) to accommodate the different width portions of the header.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to include baffle details as taught by KR ‘698 in the Samuelson, as modified, invention in order to advantageously allow for improved heat exchanger performance with multiple adjacent headers.
Re claim 21, Samuelson, as modified, fail to explicitly teach tab details.
KR ‘698 teach wherein the bent tab of the end cap is provided as a plurality of bent tabs (annotated fig), and the bent tab of the end cap at a position corresponding to the tank side and the bent tab at a position corresponding to the header side are disposed to be spaced apart from each other (fig 8, noting that according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the plain meaning of ‘tab’ is
1
a
: a short projecting device: such as
(1)
: a small flap or loop by which something may be grasped or pulled
(2)
: a projection from a card used as an aid in filing
b
: a small insert, addition, or remnant
c
: appendage, extension ) to accommodate the different width portions of the header.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to include tab details as taught by KR ‘698 in the Samuelson, as modified, invention in order to advantageously allow for improved heat exchanger performance with multiple adjacent headers.
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Re claim 22, Samuelson, as modified, fail to explicitly teach baffle details.
KR ‘698 teach wherein the baffle (left or right portion of 440) and the end cap (middle portion of 440) are integrated into a single connected shape (fig 8) to accommodate the different width portions of the header.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to include baffle details as taught by KR ‘698 in the Samuelson, as modified, invention in order to advantageously allow for improved heat exchanger performance with multiple adjacent headers.
Conclusion
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/GORDON A JONES/Examiner, Art Unit 3763