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
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I, directed to claims 1-6 and 19, in the reply filed on 7/20/2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 10-18 withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 7/20/2026.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
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.
Claim(s) 1-4 and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and (a)(2) as being anticipated by Boyd (US 2016/0290741 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Boyd discloses (Figure 1-7B) a heat transfer pipe (pipe 110), comprising: a flared portion (flare 140) having a shape of spherical zone having a proximal end and a distal end (where flare 140 may have the shape as seen in figure 3D where the flare at the end of the pipe has a may have any particular shape per paragraph 0029 such as the more spherical shape seen in figure 3D, with the distal end at the end of the flared portion spaced from the second pipe 120 and the proximal end at the end of the flared portion that is attached to pipe 120 through brazing 115 ) with an inner diameter increasing toward the distal end (the inner diameter is larger at the distal end as it is spaced from the pipe 120, noted in figure 2, whereas at the proximal end the pipe 120 is attached to the pipe 110 on which the flared section is disposed, as seen in figure 2 and 3D) and the inner diameter at the distal end being larger than the inner diameter at the proximal end (since the flare 140 is spaced from the pipe 120 at the distal end and contacts the pipe at the proximal end as seen in figure 2 and 3D) , the flared portion being disposed with another pipe (pipe 120) that is a target of coupling being disposed through the flared portion (as seen in figure 2 and 3D); and a pipe retaining portion that disposed at the proximal end of the flared portion and receives an end of the another pipe (where pipe 110 is connected to pipe 120 through brazing 115 as seen in figure 2 and 3D), wherein each of the flared portion and the pipe retaining portion has an inner wall coupled to the another pipe with a brazing material (brazing material 115 connects the two pipes 110 and 120 per paragraph 0027).
Regarding claim 2, Boyd discloses the claim limitations of claim 1 above and Boyd further discloses the flared portion (140) has, at an inner site adjacent to the distal end, a fillet made of the brazing material (a small fillet 150 is provide on the brazing 115, per paragraph 0027) .
Regarding claim 3, Boyd discloses the claim limitations of claim 1 above and Boyd further discloses the flared portion has, at the distal end, a chamfered edge adjacent to the inner wall (as seen in figure 3D the distal end of the flared portion 140 has an angled edge between the inner wall and outer wall of the pipe 110) .
Regarding claim 4, Boyd discloses the claim limitations of claim 3 above and Boyd further discloses the flared portion has a thickness decreasing from the proximal end toward the distal end (as seen in figure 3D the distal end of the flared portion 140 has an angled edge between the inner wall and outer wall of the pipe 110, where the thickness of the pipe 110 decreases toward the distal end as seen by the shape of the pipe 110 in figure 3D).
Regarding claim 19, Boyd discloses (Figure 1-7B) a heat transfer pipe (pipe 110), comprising: a flared portion having a shape of spherical zone having a proximal end and a distal end (where flare 140 may have the shape as seen in figure 3D where the flare at the end of the pipe has a may have any particular shape per paragraph 0029 such as the more spherical shape seen in figure 3D, with the distal end at the end of the flared portion spaced from the second pipe 120 and the proximal end at the end of the flared portion that is attached to pipe 120 through brazing 115 ) with an inner diameter increasing toward the distal end (the inner diameter is larger at the distal end as it is spaced from the pipe 120, noted in figure 2, whereas at the proximal end the pipe 120 is attached to the pipe 110 on which the flared section is disposed, as seen in figure 2 and 3D) and the inner diameter at the distal end being larger than the inner diameter at the proximal end (since the flare 140 is spaced from the pipe 120 at the distal end and contacts the pipe at the proximal end as seen in figure 2 and 3D), a thickness at the distal end at which the inner diameter is largest being smaller than a thickness at the proximal end (as seen in figure 3D the distal end of the flared portion 140 has an angled edge between the inner wall and outer wall of the pipe 110, where the thickness of the pipe 110 decreases toward the distal end as seen by the shape of the pipe 110 in figure 3D), the flared portion being disposed with another pipe (120) that is a target of coupling being disposed through the flared portion (as seen in figure 2 and 3D), wherein the flared portion is coupled to the another pipe with a brazing material filling a gap between the another pipe and an inner wall of the flared portion (brazing material 115 connects the two pipes 110 and 120 per paragraph 0027).
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.
Claim(s) 5-6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Boyd (US 2016/0290741 A1) in view of Hisamori (JP H07236968 A, cited in the 10/14/2024 IDS and provided with a machine translation in that IDS).
Regarding claim 5, Boyd discloses the claim limitations of claim 1 above, however Boyd does not explicitly disclose the flared portion has spiral grooves on the inner wall.
Hisamori teaches (Figure 1-8 and 19-22) a heat transfer pipe (grooved pipe 1, or 9) with a flared portion (flared portion 3) where the flared portion has spiral grooves on the inner wall (the pipe 1 or 9 has a plurality of spiral grooves 2 formed on the inner peripheral surface per paragraph 0002, where the spiral grooves are not crushed by flaring of the tube per paragraph 0006).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed to have modified the pipes 110 of Boyd to have included spiral grooves inside the pipes and at the flared portion as taught by Hisamori. Doing so would have provided a pipe structure that could realize a high heat transfer coefficient as recognized by Hisamori (per paragraph 0004 of the machine translation provided with the IDS) and would have allowed the brazing material to flow deeper inside the tube than the flared portion since the groves are not crushed by the flaring as recognized by Hisamori (per paragraph 0006).
Regarding claim 6, Boyd discloses the claim limitations of claim 1 above, and Boyd further discloses the pipes are part of a heat exchanger with the heat transfer pipe (pipe 110 leads to a heat exchanger per paragraph 0026) and the another pipe (120) however the Boyd does not explicitly disclose the structure of the heat exchanger comprising: a plurality of the heat transfer pipes (110 of Boyd) with fins attached to the heat transfer pipes.
Hisamori teaches (Figure 1-8 and 19-22) a heat exchanger with a heat transfer pipe (grooved pipe 1, or 9) coupled to another pipe (other pipe 4 or pipes 10-12) with the structure of the heat exchanger comprising: a plurality of the heat transfer pipes (1 or 9 per paragraphs 0002-0003 of the machine translation provided with the IDS) with fins attached to the heat transfer pipes (fins 8 are attached to heat exchange pipe 9 per paragraph 0003).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed to have modified the pipes 110 of the heat exchanger of Boyd to have fins attached to them as taught by Hisamori. Doing so would provide a well-known structure for improving the efficiency of the heat exchanger compared to a bare tube as recognized by Hisamori ( per paragraph 0003 of the machine translation provided with the IDS).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Arment; Bradley et al. (US 20160061536 A1), Morris (US 3750248 A) and Glasgow (US 3604104 A) disclose relevant structures for joining two sections of heat exchanger tubes.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HANS R. WEILAND whose telephone number is (571)272-9847. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 6-3 EST and alternating Fridays.
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/HANS R WEILAND/Examiner, Art Unit 3763
/ERIC S RUPPERT/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3763
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