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 Objections
Claim 7 is objected to because of the following informalities: line 4 recites “third extension pipe” but should instead read “the third extension pipe”. 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 1-2, 7-8, and 11-12 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.
Regarding claim 1, line 7 recites “the first direction”. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation. For examination purposes the claim is presumed to mean “a first direction”.
Additionally, lines 18-19 of the claim recite “each of the pair of parallel pipes is connected to two heat transfer pipes…that differ from one another”. This limitation is indefinite as it is unclear whether each pip must be connected to two heat transfer pipes, or whether the pair is connected to two pipes total. For examination purposes the claim is presumed to mean the latter, as shown in Fig. 3 of the instant application.
Regarding claims 2, 7-8, and 11-12, the claims are rejected due to dependence from claim 1.
Further regarding claim 11, it is unclear what is being recited in the preamble of the claim. For examination purposes it is presumed to be “A heat exchanger comprising:”.
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.
Claims 1-2, 7-8, and 11-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Akaiwa (US 2021/01406925) in view of Xiao (CN 203949416).
As to claim 1, Akaiwa teaches a refrigerant distributor provided in a heat exchanger 5 that includes a plurality of heat transfer pipes, and that distribute a refrigerant comprises:
a first pipe 11; and
a second pipe 12 that is connected to the first pipe; wherein
the second pipe 12 has a pair of parallel pipes that extend in a first direction, and are arranged in a second direction that intersects the first direction, having intervals in between (Figs. 2-3), and a linkage pipe 12b that connects each end in the first direction of the parallel pipes to one another (Fig. 3);
each of the parallel pipes connects to a different heat transfer pipe (Fig. 2); and
the refrigerant distributor distributes the refrigerant that flows inside of the first pipe 11 to the different heat transfer pipes due to diverging in the second pipe 12 (Fig. 2).
Akaiwa does not explicitly teach the first pipe 11 having first, second, and third extension pipes configured in the manner as claimed. However, Xiao teaches such a first pipe 1 having first, second, and third extension pipes that extend and bend in the claimed manner (Fig. 2). Therefore it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date, to modify the structure of Akaiwa to incorporate a first pipe 11 configured as claimed and taught by Xiao in order to provide effective distributed flow into and out of the exchanger ports.
As to claim 2, view of the pipe 1 of Xiao in the orthogonal direction extends in a straight line (Fig. 2).
As to claim 7, the second direction is a vertical direction and the third extension pipe is connected to the parallel pipe that is located on the bottom side in the vertical direction from below (Akaiwa, Figs. 2-3).
As to claim 8, the second pipe 12 is a U-shape as claimed (Akaiwa, Figs. 2-3).
As to claim 11, Akaiwa, as modified, includes the distributor of claim 1, a plurality of heat transfer pipes PI, and a plurality of fins FI that are connected to the heat transfer pipes (Fig. 2).
As to claim 12, Akaiwa teaches a refrigeration cycle device comprising the heat exchanger 5 of claim 11 (Fig. 1).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JONATHAN BRADFORD whose telephone number is (571)270-5199. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:00 - 4:00 ET.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jerry-Daryl Fletcher can be reached at (571)270-5054. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JONATHAN BRADFORD/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3763
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