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
This action is in response to applicant’s amendment received on 02/26/2026. Applicant’s election with traverse of Species A, Embodiment 1, as seen in figure 2, is acknowledged. Applicant identified claims 1-14 and 16-20 as reading on the elected species.
The traversal is on the grounds that the subject matter of each of the designated inventions is sufficiently related that a thorough search for the subject matter of each of the designated inventions would encompass a search for the subject matter of the remaining designated invention. This is found persuasive. The restriction requirement of 12/31/2025 is hereby withdrawn.
Claims 1-20 have been examined on their merits on this Office Action.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102:
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.
Claims 14, 16 and 18-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Shin (KR 2007-0072788A, machine translation attached).
Regarding claim 14, Shin discloses:
a gas-liquid separator (100) (figs. 3-6), comprising:
a housing (110) that defines an inner space (seen in figs. 3-4 and 6); and
a pipe (140) that passes through the housing (110) and includes an inlet flow path (at 141) through which refrigerant is received and an outlet flow path (at 142) through which refrigerant flows out of the gas-liquid separator (100) (figs. 3-6) [page 14, line 13 – page 15, line 3],
wherein the pipe (140) includes:
at least one first connecting hole (144) formed on a circumferential surface of the pipe (140) to connect the inlet flow path (at 141) and the inner space of the housing (110) (figs. 3-6) [page 14, line 13 – page 15, line 3; page 16, lines 6-8];
at least one second connecting hole (145) formed on the circumferential surface of the pipe (140) to connect the outlet flow path (at 142) and the inner space of the housing (110) (figs. 3-6) [page 16, line 15 – page 17, line 2]; and
a separation plate (143) positioned to partition the inlet flow path (at 141) and the outlet flow path (at 142) (figs. 3-6) [page 15, lines 14-16].
Regarding claim 16, Shin discloses:
the first connecting hole (front side hole 144 seen in front view of fig. 6) being provided on a first side (front side of pipe 140, fig. 6) of the circumferential surface of the pipe (140), and the second connecting hole (back side hole 145, arranged in the back or pipe 140, as can be gleaned from front view of fig. 6) being provided on a second side (back side of pipe 140, fig. 6) of the circumferential surface of the pipe (140) (fig. 6), such that the first connecting hole (144) and the second connecting hole (145) open in different directions (fig. 6).
Regarding claim 18, Shin discloses:
an outer edge of the separation plate (143) contacting an inner surface of the pipe (140) to seal the inside of the pipe (140) between the first connecting hole (144) and the second connecting hole (145) (fig. 6) [page 16, lines 1-3].
The recitation "the separation plate being a section of the pipe that is cut and bent toward an inside of the pipe" is considered to be a product by process limitation (emphasis added). MPEP 2113 clearly states "Even though product-by-process claims are limited by and defined by the process, determination of patentability is based on the product itself. The patentability of a product does not depend on its method of production. If the product in the product-by-process claim is the same as or obvious from a product of the prior art, the claim is unpatentable even though the prior product was made by a different process." In this instance, the product taught by Shin is the same as or makes the product claimed obvious, meeting this limitation of the claim.
Regarding claim 19, Shin discloses:
the pipe (140) including a plurality of the first connecting holes (144) formed on the circumferential surface of the pipe (140) (figs. 3-6).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103:
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.
Claims 1-3, 5-11, 13 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shin in view of Cho et al. (US 2022/0011029, herein “Cho”).
Regarding claim 1, Shin discloses:
an apparatus (air conditioner/refrigerator of page 8) comprising:
a compressor (compressor, page 8) that compresses refrigerant (refrigerant, page 8);
a first heat exchanger (evaporator, page 8) that is connected to the compressor through a refrigerant pipe known in the art) and that exchanges heat between refrigerant and a medium (known in the art);
a second heat exchanger (condenser, page 8) that is connected to the compressor through the refrigerant pipe (known in the art) and that exchanges heat between refrigerant and a second medium (known in the art); and
a gas-liquid separator (100) (figs. 3-6) that receives refrigerant and separates the received refrigerant into gaseous refrigerant and liquid refrigerant [page 14, line 13 – page 15, line 3],
wherein the gas-liquid separator (100) includes:
a housing (110) (figs. 3-6); and
a pipe (140) that passes through a first side (at 160 top) and a second side (at 160 bottom) of the housing (110) (figs. 3-6), and
wherein the pipe (140) includes:
an inlet flow path (at 141) through which refrigerant flows into the pipe (140) (figs. 3-6) [page 14, line 13 – page 15, line 3];
an outlet flow path (at 142) through which refrigerant flows out of the pipe (140) (figs. 3-6) [page 14, line 13 – page 15, line 3];
at least one first connecting hole (144) in a circumferential surface of the pipe (140), the first connecting hole (144) fluidly connecting the inlet flow path (at 141) and an inside of the housing (110) (figs. 3-6) [page 14, line 13 – page 15, line 3; page 16, lines 6-8];
at least one second connecting hole (145) in the circumferential surface of the pipe (140), the second connecting hole (145) fluidly connecting the outlet flow path (at 142) and the inside of the housing (110) (figs. 3-6) [page 16, line 15 – page 17, line 2]; and
a separation plate (143) that is positioned to partition the inlet flow path (at 141) and the outlet flow path (at 142) (figs. 3-6) [page 15, lines 14-16].
Shin does not disclose:
the first heat exchanger (evaporator, page 8) exchanging heat between refrigerant and water.
the second heat exchanger (condenser, page 8) exchanging heat between refrigerant and air.
However, such an arrangement of a refrigerant apparatus is old and known in the art. Cho, for instance, also directed to an air conditioner (1) comprising compressor (2) that compresses refrigerant and that is fluidly connected to a condenser (4) and an evaporator (5) teaches that it is old and known in the art to have the evaporator (5) arranged as a refrigerant-to-air or refrigerant-to-water heat exchanger as a matter of an obvious design choice according to the user’s needs [par. 0017-0018] and to have the condenser (4) as a refrigerant-to-air heat exchanger [par. 0015].
It would have been obvious to one of skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the apparatus of Shin comprising the first heat exchanger exchanging heat between refrigerant and water, and the second heat exchanger exchanging heat between refrigerant and air, as a matter of an obvious design choice according to the user’s needs.
Regarding claim 2, Shin discloses:
the pipe (140) being a single pipe (integral pipe, page 8) penetrating the housing (110) in one direction (figs. 1-3), and the pipe (140) being fixed (at 160) to the housing (110) (figs. 1-3) [page 17, lines 8-10].
Regarding claim 3, Shin discloses:
the first connecting hole (front side hole 144 seen in front view of fig. 6) being provided on a first side (front side of pipe 140, fig. 6) of the circumferential surface of the pipe (140), and the second connecting hole (back side hole 145, arranged in the back or pipe 140, as can be gleaned from front view of fig. 6) being provided on a second side (back side of pipe 140, fig. 6) of the circumferential surface of the pipe (140) (fig. 6), such that the first connecting hole (144) and the second connecting hole (145) open in different directions (fig. 6).
Regarding claim 5, Shin discloses:
The recitation "the separation plate being a section of the pipe that is cut and bent toward an inside of the pipe" is considered to be a product by process limitation (emphasis added). MPEP 2113 clearly states "Even though product-by-process claims are limited by and defined by the process, determination of patentability is based on the product itself. The patentability of a product does not depend on its method of production. If the product in the product-by-process claim is the same as or obvious from a product of the prior art, the claim is unpatentable even though the prior product was made by a different process." In this instance, the product taught by the combination of Shin and Cho is the same as or makes the product claimed obvious, meeting this limitation of the claim.
Regarding claim 6, the combination of Shin and Cho does not disclose:
a shape of the first connecting hole (144) corresponding to a shape of the separation plate (143).
It would have been an obvious matter of design choice to have first connecting hole corresponding to the shape of the separation plate, since the shape of the first connecting hole along the flow channels doesn't change its function, and applicant has not disclosed that having a shape of the first connecting hole corresponding to a shape of the separation plate solves any stated problem or is for any particular purpose and it appears that the invention would perform equally well having the shape of the first connecting hole arranged in other manners. Further, it has been held that changing the shape of an old device is a matter of design choice which involves only routine skill in the art. MPEP 2144.04, section IV, part A.
Regarding claim 7, Shin discloses:
an outer edge of the separation plate (143) is in close contact with an inner surface of the pipe (140) (fig. 6) [page 16, lines 1-3], and the separation plate (143) separates the inlet flow path (at 141) from the outlet flow path (at 142) (fig. 6) [page 15, lines 14-16].
Regarding claim 8, the combination of Shin and Cho does not disclose:
an area of the first connecting hole (144) being larger than an area of a horizontal cross section of the pipe (140).
However, Shin discloses a plurality of first connecting holes (144) which combined area is larger than the area of a horizontal cross section of the pipe (140) (as can be gleaned from figures 4 and 6). Further, Shin aims to have the refrigerant easily flowing out from the pipe (140) [page 16, lines 6-10] which can be achieve by having a larger first connecting hole (144). Furthermore, the sizing of the first connecting hole (144) is considered to be an obvious design choice, wherein one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, would design or size the first connecting hole (144) having a diameter to provide a proper flow (smooth flow, acknowledged by Shin) of the refrigerant through the separator.
Regarding claim 9, the combination of Shin and Cho does not disclose:
an area of the second connecting hole (145) being larger than an area of a horizontal cross section of the pipe (140).
However, Shin discloses a plurality of second connecting holes (145) which combined area is larger than the area of a horizontal cross section of the pipe (140) (as can be gleaned from figures 4 and 6). Further, the sizing of the second connecting hole (145) is considered to be an obvious design choice, wherein one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, would design or size the second connecting hole (145) having a diameter to provide a proper amount a refrigerant flowing into the holes (145) (i.e. preventing a large amount of liquid refrigerant from flowing into holes 145, as acknowledged by Shin, page 17, lines 3-7).
Regarding claim 10, Shin discloses:
the at least one first connecting hole (144) including a plurality of the first connecting holes (144) formed on the circumferential surface of the pipe (140) (figs. 3-6).
Regarding claim 11, Shin discloses:
the at least one second connecting hole (145) includes a plurality of the second connecting holes (145) formed on the circumferential surface of the pipe (140) (figs. 3-6).
Regarding claim 13, Shin discloses:
the first connecting hole (144) being located upstream of the second connecting hole (145) in a refrigerant flow path (of pipe 140) (best seen in fig. 6).
Regarding claim 20, Shin discloses:
an apparatus (air conditioner/refrigerator of page 8) comprising:
a first heat exchanger (evaporator, page 8) that exchanges heat between refrigerant and a medium (known in the art);
a second heat exchanger (condenser, page 8) that exchanges heat between refrigerant and a second medium (known in the art); and
a gas-liquid separator (100) (figs. 3-6) that receives mixed-state refrigerant and separates the mixed-state refrigerant into gaseous refrigerant and liquid refrigerant [page 14, line 13 – page 15, line 3],
wherein the gas-liquid separator (100) includes:
a housing (110) (figs. 3-6); and
a pipe (140) that passes through the housing (110) (figs. 3-6),
wherein the pipe (140) includes:
a circumferential wall (the wall of pipe 140) defining a passage (of pipe 140) in which refrigerant flows (figs. 3-6) [page 14, line 13 – page 15, line 3];
a first hole (144) and a second hole (145) extending through the circumferential wall (of pipe 140) to fluidly connect respective sections of the passage (of pipe 140) and an inside of the housing (110) (figs. 3-6) [page 16, lines 6-8; page 16, line 15 – page 17, line 2]; and
wherein the passage (of pipe 140) is blocked (by partition plate 143) between the first hole (144) and the second hole (145) (figs. 3-4 and 6).
Shin does not disclose:
the first heat exchanger (evaporator, page 8) exchanging heat between refrigerant and water.
the second heat exchanger (condenser, page 8) exchanging heat between refrigerant and air.
However, such an arrangement of a refrigerant apparatus is old and known in the art. Cho, for instance, also directed to an air conditioner (1) comprising compressor (2) that compresses refrigerant and that is fluidly connected to a condenser (4) and an evaporator (5) teaches that it is old and known in the art to have the evaporator (5) arranged as a refrigerant-to-air or refrigerant-to-water heat exchanger as a matter of an obvious design choice according to the user’s needs [par. 0017-0018] and to have the condenser (4) as a refrigerant-to-air heat exchanger [par. 0015].
It would have been obvious to one of skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the apparatus of Shin comprising the first heat exchanger exchanging heat between refrigerant and water, and the second heat exchanger exchanging heat between refrigerant and air, as a matter of an obvious design choice according to the user’s needs.
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shin and Cho as it applies to claims 1-3, 5-11, 13 and 20, above, and further in view of Takenaka et al. (US 2016/0273795, herein “Takenaka”).
Regarding claim 12, the combination of Shin and Cho does not disclose:
the pipe including an oil hole located inside the housing and located downstream of the second connecting hole in a refrigerant flow path.
However, Takenaka teaches that separators (6) (figs. 1 and 3) [par. 0024] including oil holes (seen at the bottom of outflow pipe 1c, fig. 3) arranged inside a housing (of 6) and downstream of a connecting hole (inlet of outflow pipe 1c) in a refrigerant flow path (from inflow pipe 1b to outflow pipe 1c) are old and known in the art, for the purpose of returning oil that circulates in the refrigerant circuit to the compressor (1) [par. 0075] optimizing performance of the compressor.
It would have been obvious to one of skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teachings of Takenaka into the combination of Shin and Cho to have the pipe (Shin, 140) including an oil hole (Takenaka, fig. 3) located inside the housing (Shin, 110) and located downstream of the second connecting hole (Shin, 145) in the refrigerant flow path, in order to return oil that circulates in the refrigerant circuit to the compressor (Shin), optimizing performance of the compressor (Shin).
Claim 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shin in view of Takenaka.
Regarding claim 15, Shin does not disclose:
the housing including a drain pipe through which refrigerant is discharged from the inner space of the housing, and wherein the drain pipe is disposed to discharge refrigerant collected in a lower part of the inner space of the housing.
However, Takenaka teaches that separators (6) (figs. 1 and 3) [par. 0024] including drain pipes (16a) through which refrigerant is discharged from the inner space of the housing (of 6) and wherein the drain pipe (16a) is disposed to discharge refrigerant collected in a lower part of the inner space of the housing (6) (fig. 3), are old and known in the art, for the purpose of returning refrigerant to the compressor, ensuring that the refrigerant is at the correct pressure and temperature to optimize performance of the compressor.
It would have been obvious to one of skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teachings of Takenaka into Shin to have the housing including a drain pipe through which refrigerant is discharged from the inner space of the housing, and wherein the drain pipe is disposed to discharge refrigerant collected in a lower part of the inner space of the housing, in order to be able to better control return of refrigerant to the compressor [par. 0076], ensuring that the refrigerant is at the correct pressure and temperature to optimize performance of the compressor.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4 and 17 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.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GUSTAVO A HINCAPIE SERNA whose telephone number is (571)272-6018. The examiner can normally be reached 9am-5:30pm.
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/GUSTAVO A HINCAPIE SERNA/Examiner, Art Unit 3763
/JENNA M MARONEY/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3763