DETAILED ACTIO
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 § 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.
Claim 12 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 applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 12 recites “at least one third radiator” in line 2, which lacks proper antecedent basis. For examining purposes the limitation will be interpreted as --the third radiator--.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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) 1-6, 10, 12, and 14-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Han et al. (Korean Patent Publication KR20190075216A, “Han”)
Regarding claim 1, Han discloses a cooling module (fig 2 and fig 3) comprising:
a first radiator (300); and
a second radiator (200) stacked and disposed at an upstream side of the first radiator based on a flow direction of cooling air (fig 2),
wherein the first radiator comprises:
a main inlet port (340) connected to an engine (¶0013) so that a coolant is introduced through the main inlet port;
a main discharge port (350) through which the coolant is discharged;
an auxiliary discharge port (450) connected to a third radiator (400), which is installed at a position that does not overlap the first radiator and the second radiator in the flow direction of the cooling air (fig 5), so that the coolant is discharged through the auxiliary discharge port; and
an auxiliary inlet port (440) through which the coolant is introduced, and
wherein the auxiliary discharge port and the auxiliary inlet port extends toward the third radiator (see fig 3).
Regarding claim 2, Han further discloses wherein the auxiliary inlet port (440) and the auxiliary discharge port (450) extend toward an upstream side based on the flow direction of the cooling air (see annotated fig 3 below), and the main inlet port (340) and the main discharge port (350) extend toward a downstream side based on the flow direction of the cooling air (see annotated fig 3 below).
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Regarding claim 3, Han further discloses wherein the first radiator (300) comprises:
a pair of header tanks (310, 410, as these elements are directly connected) disposed to be spaced apart from each other in a longitudinal direction (see annotated fig 3 below); and
a plurality of tubes (320) each having two opposite ends connected to the pair of header tanks, and wherein the main inlet port (340) and the auxiliary discharge port (450) are capable being formed in any one of the pair of header tanks (via directing flow in a counterflow direction), and the main discharge port and the auxiliary inlet port are capable of being formed in the other header tank.
A recitation with respect to the manner in which a claimed apparatus is intended to be employed does not differentiate the claimed apparatus from a prior art apparatus satisfying the structural limitations of the claims, as is the case here.
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Regarding claim 4, Han further discloses wherein the auxiliary inlet port (440) and the auxiliary discharge port (450) are formed in shapes spread outward in the longitudinal direction from the first radiator (300) toward an upstream side on the basis of the flow direction of the cooling air (see annotated fig 3 below).
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Regarding claim 5, Han further discloses wherein the auxiliary discharge port (450) is disposed below the main inlet port (340) in a height direction (see annotated fig 3 below).
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Regarding claim 6, Han further discloses wherein the main inlet port (340) and the auxiliary discharge port (440) are disposed adjacent to each other at an upper side (of the vehicle) based on a gravitational direction (see annotated fig 3 below).
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Regarding claim 10, Han further discloses wherein the auxiliary discharge port (450) is disposed adjacent to the main inlet port (340).
Regarding claim 12, Han further discloses the third radiator (400) is connected to the auxiliary discharge port (450) and the auxiliary inlet port (440) of the first radiator (300).
Regarding claim 14, Han discloses an engine radiator (fig 2 and fig 3) comprising:
a pair of header tanks (310, 410, as the elements are directly connected to each other) disposed adjacent to each other in a longitudinal direction (see annotated fig 3 below);
a plurality of tubes (320) each having two opposite ends connected to the pair of header tanks;
a main inlet port (340) and an auxiliary inlet port (440) capable of being formed in any one of the pair of header tanks so that a coolant is introduced through the main inlet port and the auxiliary inlet port; and
a main discharge port (350) and an auxiliary discharge port (450) formed in any one of the pair of header tanks so that the coolant is discharged through the main discharge port and the auxiliary discharge port.
Regarding claim 15, Han further discloses wherein the main inlet port (340) and the auxiliary discharge port (450) are capable of being formed in any one of the pair of header tanks (310, via directing flow in a counterflow direction), and the main discharge port (350) and the auxiliary inlet port (440) are capable of being formed in the other header tank.
A recitation with respect to the manner in which a claimed apparatus is intended to be employed does not differentiate the claimed apparatus from a prior art apparatus satisfying the structural limitations of the claims, as is the case here.
Regarding claim 16, Han further discloses wherein the auxiliary inlet port (440) and the auxiliary discharge port (450) extend toward an upstream side based on a flow direction of cooling air (see annotated fig 3 below), and the main inlet port (340) and the main discharge port (350) extend toward a downstream side based on the flow direction of the cooling air (see annotated fig 3 below).
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Regarding claim 17, Han further discloses wherein the auxiliary inlet port (440) and the auxiliary discharge port (450) are formed in shapes spread outward in the longitudinal direction from the first radiator (300) toward an upstream side on the basis of the flow direction of the cooling air (see annotated fig 3 below).
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Regarding claim 18, Han further discloses wherein the auxiliary discharge port (450) is disposed below the main inlet port (340) in a height direction (see annotated fig 3 below).
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Regarding claim 19, Han further discloses wherein the main inlet port (340) and the auxiliary discharge port (440) are disposed adjacent to each other at an upper side (of the vehicle) based on a gravitational direction (see annotated fig 3 below).
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Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
Claim(s) 7, 9, 11, 13, and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Han as applied to claims 1, 3, and 15 above, and further in view of Iwasaki et al. (U.S. Patent No. 5,046,554, “Iwasaki”).
Regarding claim 7, Han discloses all previous claim limitations. However, Han does not explicitly disclose wherein the auxiliary inlet port is disposed above the main discharge port in the height direction. Iwasaki, however, discloses a cooling module (fig 3) wherein an auxiliary inlet port (see annotated fig 3 below) is disposed above a main discharge port (72) in a height direction (see annotated fig 3 below). It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention for Han to provide auxiliary inlet port above a main discharge port as taught by Iwasaki in order to provide the most convenient connection locations for the fluids.
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Regarding claim 9, Han discloses all previous claim limitations. However, Han does not explicitly disclose an oil cooler stacked and disposed at an upstream side of the condenser based on the flow direction of the cooling air, wherein the auxiliary discharge port or the auxiliary inlet port is disposed at a position corresponding to an oil inlet pipe and an oil outlet pipe of the oil cooler and disposed outward of the oil inlet pipe and the oil outlet pipe of the oil cooler in the longitudinal direction. Iwasaki, however, discloses a cooling module wherein an oil cooler (45, col 5, lines 58-60) stacked and disposed at an upstream side of a condenser (44, col 5, lines 46-47) based on the flow direction of the cooling air. It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention for Han to provide the oil cooler of Iwasaki in order to allow for cooling of engine oil. This would result in wherein the auxiliary inlet port (440, Han) is disposed at a position corresponding to an oil inlet pipe and an oil outlet pipe of the oil cooler and disposed outward of the oil inlet pipe and the oil outlet pipe of the oil cooler in the longitudinal direction (see annotated fig 3 below).
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Regarding claim 11, Han discloses all previous claim limitations. However, Han does not explicitly disclose wherein an inlet pipe and an outlet pipe extend from the second radiator toward a downstream side based on the flow direction of the cooling air, and wherein a concave insertion groove is formed in any one or more of the pair of header tanks of the first radiator, and the inlet pipe and the outlet pipe are inserted and disposed in the insertion groove. Iwasaki, however, discloses a cooling module (fig 3) wherein an inlet pipe and an outlet pipe extend from a second radiator (43) toward a downstream side based on the flow direction of the cooling air, and wherein a concave insertion groove (see annotated fig 3 below) is formed in any one or more of the pair of header tanks of the first radiator (43), and the inlet pipe and the outlet pipe are inserted and disposed in the insertion groove. It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention for Han to provide the insertion groove of Iwasaki and to have the inlet pipe and the outlet pipe within to provide a more compact cooling module and save space.
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Regarding claim 13, Han discloses all previous claim limitations. However, Han does not explicitly disclose a fan shroud stacked and disposed at a downstream side of the first radiator based on the flow direction of the cooling air. Iwasaki, however, discloses a cooling module (fig 3) wherein a fan shroud is stacked and disposed at a downstream side of a first radiator (43) based on the flow direction of the cooling air. It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention for Han to provide fan shroud of Iwasaki in order to efficiently guide air through the cooling module.
Regarding claim 20, Han discloses all previous claim limitations. However, Han does not explicitly disclose wherein the auxiliary inlet port is disposed above the main discharge port in the height direction. Iwasaki, however, discloses a cooling module (fig 3) wherein an auxiliary inlet port (see annotated fig 3 below) is disposed above a main discharge port (72) in a height direction (see annotated fig 3 below). It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention for Han to provide auxiliary inlet port above a main discharge port as taught by Iwasaki in order to provide the most convenient connection locations for the fluids.
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Claim(s) 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Han as applied to claims 3 above, and further in view of Choi et al. (Korean Patent Publication KR20190051934A, “Choi”).
Regarding claim 8, Han discloses all previous claim limitations. Han further discloses a condenser (100), wherein the auxiliary discharge port (450) or the auxiliary inlet port (440) is disposed at a position corresponding to a refrigerant inlet pipe (140) and a refrigerant outlet pipe (150) of the condenser and disposed outward of the refrigerant inlet pipe and the refrigerant outlet pipe of the condenser in the longitudinal direction (see annotated fig 3 below). Choi, however, discloses a cooling module (fig 5) having a condenser (300) stacked and disposed at an upstream side of a second radiator (200) based on the flow direction of the cooling air.
when there are a finite number of identified, predictable solutions, i.e. having the condenser upstream or downstream a second radiator, a person of ordinary skill has a good reason to pursue the known options within his or her technical grasp. If this leads to the anticipated success, i.e. cooling of the fluids, it is likely the product is not of innovation but of ordinary skill and common sense. In that instance, the fact that a combination was obvious to try might show it was obvious under 35 U.S.C. 103 (KSR Int' l Co. v. Teleflex Incl, 127 S. Ct. 1727, 1742, 82 USPQ2d 1385, 1396 (2007)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Han, by trying to have the condenser upstream the second radiator, since choosing from a finite number of identified, predictable solutions, with a reasonable expectation of success, is within the abilities of one having ordinary skill. See MPEP 2143(I)(E).
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Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HARRY E ARANT whose telephone number is (571)272-1105. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 10-6 ET.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jianying Atkisson can be reached at (571)270-7740. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/HARRY E ARANT/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3763