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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Drawings
The drawings were received on July 12, 2024. These drawings are acceptable.
Specification
Applicant is reminded of the proper content of an abstract of the disclosure.
A patent abstract is a concise statement of the technical disclosure of the patent and should include that which is new in the art to which the invention pertains. The abstract should not refer to purported merits or speculative applications of the invention and should not compare the invention with the prior art.
If the patent is of a basic nature, the entire technical disclosure may be new in the art, and the abstract should be directed to the entire disclosure. If the patent is in the nature of an improvement in an old apparatus, process, product, or composition, the abstract should include the technical disclosure of the improvement. The abstract should also mention by way of example any preferred modifications or alternatives.
Where applicable, the abstract should include the following: (1) if a machine or apparatus, its organization and operation; (2) if an article, its method of making; (3) if a chemical compound, its identity and use; (4) if a mixture, its ingredients; (5) if a process, the steps.
Extensive mechanical and design details of an apparatus should not be included in the abstract. The abstract should be in narrative form and generally limited to a single paragraph within the range of 50 to 150 words in length.
See MPEP § 608.01(b) for guidelines for the preparation of patent abstracts.
Applicant is reminded of the proper language and format for an abstract of the disclosure.
The abstract should be in narrative form and generally limited to a single paragraph on a separate sheet within the range of 50 to 150 words in length. The abstract should describe the disclosure sufficiently to assist readers in deciding whether there is a need for consulting the full patent text for details.
The language should be clear and concise and should not repeat information given in the title. It should avoid using phrases which can be implied, such as, “The disclosure concerns,” “The disclosure defined by this invention,” “The disclosure describes,” etc. In addition, the form and legal phraseology often used in patent claims, such as “means” and “said,” should be avoided.
The abstract of the disclosure is objected to because it does not avoid phrases which can be implied (i.e., “according to the present invention”) and because it includes unclear/indeterminate terms (i.e., “therein” and “thereinto”). A corrected abstract of the disclosure is required and must be presented on a separate sheet, apart from any other text. See MPEP § 608.01(b).
Claim Objections
Claims 1 through 16 are objected to because of the following informalities, for example: “any one of the first fluid inlet port or the first fluid outlet port” [claim 1, line 11; claim 1, lines 12-13] should be replaced with “any one of the first fluid inlet port and of the first fluid outlet port”; and, “communicates with” [claim 2, line 2] should be replaced with “in communication with” for improved grammatical correctness. Appropriate correction is required.
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 1 through 16 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 applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claims 1, 3, and 6 each recite the limitation "the other surface". There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claims. Also, while the claims do previously recite “one surface of the manifold plate”, the manifold plate is a three-dimensional object inherently having at least six surfaces. Therefore, it is not at all clear which of the other surfaces of the manifold plate is intended to be referred to by the limitation “the other surface”, thus further rendering indefinite the metes and bounds of protection sought by the claims and any claims depending therefrom.
Similarly, claim 14 recites the limitation "the other side”. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claims. Also, while the claim does previously recite “one side of the manifold plate”, the manifold plate is a three-dimensional object inherently having more than two sides. Therefore, it is not at all clear which of the other sides of the manifold plate is intended to be referred to by the limitation “the other side”, thus further rendering indefinite the metes and bounds of protection sought by the claims and any claims depending therefrom.
The terms “upper” and “lower” in claims 5 and 8 through 10 are relative terms which renders the claims indefinite. Similarly, the terms “high” and “low” in claim 11 are relative terms which renders the claim indefinite. The aforementioned terms are not defined by the claims, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree associated with any one of the claims, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention. Thus, as used to qualify various respective elements in the claims, the aforementioned terms render the same indeterminate and the claims further indefinite.
Claim 13 recites that the third heat exchanger evaporates the first fluid. However, claim 15 which depends from claim 13 contradicts the limitations in claim 13 by reciting that the second heat exchanger (and not the third heat exchanger as previously recited) is an evaporator whereas the third heat exchanger is a chiller. This self-contradiction between the aforementioned limitations in claims 13 and 15 further renders indefinite the metes and bounds of protection sought by the claims.
Any claim not specifically rejected is at least rejected as being dependent on a rejected claim.
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 (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 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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
As best can be understood in view of the indefiniteness of the claims, claims 1 through 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Calderone (U.S. Publication No. US 2019/0039440 A1; made of record via IDS).
With regard to claim 1 of the instant application, Calderone (especially Figures 2 through 5, 7, and 8) discloses a manifold fluid module 200 comprising: a manifold plate 202 in which a fluid flow path is formed (i.e., see Figure 5); a compressor 204 coupled to the manifold plate 202; and a first heat exchanger 206 (i.e., see Figure 2 and paragraph [0036]) which is coupled to the manifold plate 202, is connected to directly receive a first fluid flowing out of the compressor 204, and exchanges heat between the first fluid and a second fluid, wherein the compressor 204 is coupled to one surface of the manifold plate 202, and the first heat exchanger 206 is coupled to the other surface of the manifold plate 202 (i.e., to the opposite side from the side of the manifold plate 202 on which the compressor 204 is mounted), the compressor 204 has a first fluid inlet port and a first fluid outlet port (i.e., the first fluid inlet and the first fluid outlet ports being readable on port 236 as described in paragraphs [0044] and [0054] as well as on an inherently present second port, not shown, a compressor inherently and necessarily including an inlet port and an outlet port), the first heat exchanger 206 has a first fluid inlet port and a first fluid outlet port (i.e., readable on ports 228, see Figure 4 and paragraph [0046]), and any one of the first fluid inlet port or the first fluid outlet port of the compressor 204 is directly connected to and communicates with any one of the first fluid inlet port 228 or the first fluid outlet port 228 of the first heat exchanger 206 (i.e., see at least paragraphs [0044], [0046], and [0054]).
With regard to claim 2 of the instant application, Calderone discloses the manifold fluid module 200 of claim 1, wherein the first fluid outlet port of the compressor 204 is directly connected to (i.e., via the manifold plate 202, as in the instant application) and communicates with the first fluid inlet port 228 of the first heat exchanger 206 (i.e., via the fluid manifold plate 202).
With regard to claim 3 of the instant application, Calderone discloses the manifold fluid module 200 of claim 1, wherein the first inlet port of the compressor 204 is coupled to one surface of the manifold plate 202, and the first fluid outlet port 228 of the first heat exchanger 206 is coupled to the other (i.e., another) surface of the manifold plate 202 (i.e., as shown in at least Figures 2, 4, 8).
With regard to claim 4 of the instant application, Calderone discloses the manifold fluid module 200 of claim 1, further comprising a second heat exchanger 226 coupled to the manifold plate 202 and exchanging heat between the first fluid (i.e., refrigerant), which flows out of the first heat exchanger 206, and the second fluid (i.e., chilled water/coolant).
With regard to claim 5 of the instant application, Calderone discloses the manifold fluid module 200 of claim 4, wherein the exchanging of the heat is performed by allowing the first fluid to flow into an upper portion and move to a lower portion in the first heat exchanger 206 and allowing the first fluid to flow into a lower portion and move to an upper portion in the second heat exchanger 226 (i.e., as shown in at least Figure 4).
With regard to claim 6 of the instant application, Calderone discloses the manifold fluid module 200 of claim 4, wherein the first fluid inlet port 228/230 and the first fluid outlet port 228/230 for inflow and outflow of the first fluid are provided on one surface of each of the first heat exchanger 206 and the second heat exchanger 226, and the second fluid inlet port 228/230 and the second fluid outlet port 228/230 for inflow and outflow of the second fluid are provided on the other surface of each of the first heat exchanger 206 and the second heat exchanger 226 (i.e., at least as shown in Figure 4).
With regard to claim 7 of the instant application, Calderone discloses the manifold fluid module 200 of claim 6, wherein the first fluid inlet port 228/230 and the first outlet port 228/230 are directly connected to the fluid flow path of the manifold plate 202, and the second fluid inlet port 228/230 and the second fluid outlet port 228/230 are provided outside the first heat exchanger 206 and the second heat exchanger 226 (i.e., at least as shown in Figure 4).
With regard to claim 8 of the instant application, Calderone discloses the manifold fluid module 200 of claim 6, wherein the first fluid inlet ports 228/230 are disposed on upper portions of the first heat exchanger 206 and the second heat exchanger 226, and the first fluid outlet ports 228/230 are disposed on lower portions of the first heat exchanger 206 and the second heat exchanger 230 (i.e., at least as shown in Figure 4).
With regard to claim 9 of the instant application, Calderone discloses the manifold fluid module 200 of claim 6, wherein the second fluid inlet ports 228/230 are disposed on lower portions of the first heat exchanger 206 and the second heat exchanger 226, and the second fluid outlet ports 228/230 are disposed on upper portions of the first heat exchanger 206 and the second heat exchanger 226 (i.e., at least as shown in Figure 4).
With regard to claim 10 of the instant application, Calderone discloses the manifold fluid module 200 of claim 4, wherein fastening parts (i.e., ports 230) for coupling with the manifold plate 202 are formed to extend from an upper portion and a lower portion of the second heat exchanger 226 (i.e., see at least Figure 4).
With regard to claim 11 of the instant application, Calderone discloses the manifold fluid module 200 of claim 1, wherein at least one opening 238 is formed in the manifold plate 202 to avoid thermal interference between a high temperature first fluid and a low temperature first fluid (i.e., at least as shown in Figure 5).
With regard to claim 12 of the instant application, Calderone discloses the manifold fluid module 200 of claim 11, wherein the opening 238 is formed adjacent to a flow path of the first fluid flowing into the compressor 204 (i.e., at least as shown in Figure 5), with the compressor 204 being attached via port 236.
With regard to claim 13 of the instant application, Calderone discloses the manifold fluid module 200 of claim 4, wherein a third heat exchanger 222 (i.e., see at least paragraph [0038]) and an accumulator/receiver-drier 210 are coupled to the manifold plate 202, wherein the third heat exchanger 222 evaporates the first fluid, which flows out of the first heat exchanger 206, by exchanging heat between the first fluid and the second fluid, and the accumulator/receiver-drier 210 divides the first fluid, which passes through the second heat exchanger 222, into a gaseous fluid and a liquid fluid.
With regard to claim 14 of the instant application, Calderone discloses the manifold fluid module 200 of claim 13, wherein the first heat exchanger 206 is disposed on one side of the manifold plate 202, the second heat exchanger 226 and the third heat exchanger 222 are disposed on the other side (i.e., the sides being respectively the left side and the right side as shown in Figures 4 and 8, for example), and the accumulator/receiver-drier 210 is disposed between the first heat exchanger 206 and the second and third heat exchangers 222/226 (i.e., the accumulator/receiver-drier 210 is shown nestled among the various heat exchangers 206/222/226 in at least Figure 8).
With regard to claim 15 of the instant application, Calderone discloses the manifold fluid module 200 of claim 13, wherein the first heat exchanger 206 is a water-cooled condenser (i.e., see Figure 2 and paragraphs [0036] and [0038]), the second/third heat exchanger 222 is a is a water-cooled evaporator (i.e., see Figure 2 and paragraphs [0036] and [0038]), and the second/third heat exchanger 226 is a chiller (i.e., see Figure 4 and paragraphs [0036] and [0038]).
With regard to claim 16 of the instant application, Calderone discloses the manifold fluid module 200 of claim 15, wherein the second fluid, which exchanges heat in the water-cooled condenser 206, performs indoor heating of a vehicle, the second fluid, which exchanges heat in the water-cooled evaporator 222, performs indoor cooling of the vehicle, and the second fluid, which exchanges heat in the chiller 226, cools a battery. Note that the aforementioned limitations in claim 16 are intended use limitations without any particular additional structural elements being positively recited by the claim.
The reference thus reads on the claims.
Conclusion
The additional related and/or prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LJILJANA V CIRIC whose telephone number is (571)272-4909. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Saturday, flexible.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Len Tran can be reached at 571-272-1184. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Ljiljana V. Ciric/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3763
LJILJANA (Lil) V. CIRIC
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3763
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