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 .
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.
Claim(s) 1-2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Lawless et al. US 2010/0218912 Al.
Re claim 1, Lawless et al. teach a concentric tube heat carry-away device , comprising an outer tube (12), tube end fixing cap (22), and an inner tube (16, annotated fig), wherein the outer tube, the tube end fixing cap, and the inner tube are sequentially arranged, and centers of the outer tube and the inner tube are on a same straight line (fig 1), heat dissipation grooves being arranged inside the outer tube (grooves formed by 44), the heat dissipation grooves forming heat-dissipating channels (channels in between 44), the tube end fixing cap being arranged inside the outer tube and connected to the outer tube, the tube end fixing cap and the outer tube being arranged to space from each other, the inner tube being arranged inside the tube end fixing cap and penetrating into the tube end fixing cap, the inner tube and the outer tube being arranged to space from each other and forming a cooling space, the heat-dissipating channels being arranged in the cooling space, the inner tube being in communication with the cooling space (fig 1).
PNG
media_image1.png
293
765
media_image1.png
Greyscale
Re claim 2, Lawless et al. teach wherein the outer tube comprises an outer tube body (12) and an outer tube flow-return cap (22), the outer tube body and the outer tube flow-return cap being fixedly connected, the outer tube flow-return cap being arranged in a spherical form (cylindrical).
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) 3-4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over by Lawless et al. in view of Lee US 20190100079 A1 .
Re claim 3, Lawless et al. teach wherein the heat dissipation grooves are arranged as plural ones, and the plural heat dissipation grooves are uniformly arranged inside the outer tube, the heat dissipation grooves being sequentially connected, the heat dissipation grooves being of an arc form (fig 1).
Lawless et al. fail to explicitly teach completely cover.
Lee teach and laid to completely cover the outer tube (noting 112 completely cover the inside of 120 to the “end caps” see annotated fig 1 below, and therefore in the instant combination the grooves of the primary reference are covering the inside of the outer tube all the way to both equivalent end caps ) to provide a vortex-forming dimple structure.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to include completely cover as taught by Lee in the Lawless et al. invention in order to advantageously allow for enhanced heat exchange.
Re claim 4, Lawless et al. , as modified, teach wherein the plural heat dissipation grooves for plural heat-dissipating channels, and the heat-dissipating channels are all in communication with the cooling space (figs of both reference noting the instant combination, see the rejection of claim 3).
PNG
media_image2.png
216
386
media_image2.png
Greyscale
Claim(s) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over by Lawless et al. in view of Shieh US 20190184085 A1.
Re claim 5, Lawless et al. fail to explicitly teach positioning notches.
Shieh teach wherein the tube end fixing cap is formed with positioning notches, and the inner tube penetrates into and is fixed in the positioning notches (108, para 50) so the housing and the cap be positioned and engaged together (para 50, noting in the instant combination all parts are fixedly connected to each other in the final construction/apparatus ).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to include positioning notches as taught by Shieh in the Lawless et al. invention in order to advantageously allow for enhanced assembly stability.
PNG
media_image3.png
312
609
media_image3.png
Greyscale
Claim(s) 5-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over by Lawless et al. in view of JEONG US 2025/0253430 Al.
Additionally, Re claim 5, Lawless et al. fail to explicitly teach positioning notches.
JEONG teach wherein the tube end fixing cap (annotated fig) is formed with positioning notches (annotated fig), and the inner tube penetrates into and is fixed in the positioning notches (figs) so the housing and the cap be positioned and engaged together to engage a heat exchange device interior to the outer cylinder (para 49, noting in the instant combination all parts are fixedly connected to each other in the final construction/apparatus ).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to include positioning notches as taught by JEONG in the Lawless et al. invention in order to advantageously allow for enhanced assembly stability.
PNG
media_image4.png
454
745
media_image4.png
Greyscale
Re claim 6, Lawless et al. teach a diameter of the inner tube body being smaller than the outer tube body (figs), but fail to teach positioning strip details.
JEONG teach wherein the inner tube comprises an inner tube body, positioning strips (fig 10, end portions of 123,124 which fit into 161), and an inner tube lead-in end (one of the ends),
a diameter of the inner tube body being smaller than the outer tube body (123 and 124 smaller than 132),
the inner tube body being fixedly connected to the positioning strips and the inner tube lead-in end (instant combination all parts fixed to one another), the positioning strips being arranged as plural ones (figs), the positioning notches corresponding, in number, to the positioning strips, the positioning strips penetrating into and being fixed in the positioning notches (fig 10) so the housing and the cap be positioned and engaged together to engage a heat exchange device interior to the outer cylinder (para 49, noting in the instant combination all parts are fixedly connected to each other in the final construction/apparatus ).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to include positioning strips as taught by JEONG in the Lawless et al.., as modified, invention in order to advantageously allow for enhanced assembly stability.
Re claim 7, Lawless et al. teach an opposite end extending out of the outer tube body (see the rejection of claims 1-2).
JEONG teach wherein the inner tube lead-in end is of a horn shape (noting that according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the plain meaning of ‘horn’ is 2 : something resembling or suggestive of a horn: such as a : one of the curved ends of a crescent), one end of the inner tube lead-in end being disposed inside the outer tube body and fixedly connected to the inner tube body (figs, see the rejections of claim 5-6) so the housing and the cap be positioned and engaged together to engage a heat exchange device interior to the outer cylinder (para 49, noting in the instant combination all parts are fixedly connected to each other in the final construction/apparatus ).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to include inner tube details as taught by JEONG in the Lawless et al.., as modified, invention in order to advantageously allow for enhanced assembly stability.
Re claim 8, Lawless et al., as modified, teach wherein the inner tube lead-in end and the outer tube body are arranged to space from each other and form a flow conducting space, the flow conducting space being in communication with the cooling space (noting in the instant combination , the inner tube lead in end modifies the primary reference by adding and extensions to 20 of the primary reference, and since the cooling channel already exists, and the inner and outer diameter remains in the instant combination with “a flow conducting space”, the claim limitations are met) .
Claim(s) 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over by Lawless et al..
Re claim 9, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to form materials of the outer tube, the tube end fixing cap, and the inner tube are all copper for increased heat transfer, since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as matter of obvious design choice. See MPEP 2144.07.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US 2,634,759, US 2012/0199326 Al, US 9091487 B2.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GORDON A JONES whose telephone number is (571)270-1218. The examiner can normally be reached 7:30-5 M-F PST.
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 at 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 published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/GORDON A JONES/ Examiner, Art Unit 3763
Prosecution Insights