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 § 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 14 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 14 recites “the flow port side bypass path” in line 3, which lacks proper antecedent basis and should recite --a flow port side bypass path--.
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) 1-4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Brodie et al. (U.S. Patent Publication 2017/0028814, “Brodie”).
Regarding claim 1, Brodie discloses a heat exchanger (figs 19A,19B) comprising:
a plurality of tubes (see annotated fig 19A below) disposed in parallel with one another and configured to define a core region (see annotated fig 19A below) in which a refrigerant flows;
a pair of header tanks (see annotated fig 19A below) provided at two opposite ends of the tubes; and
a plurality of baffles (see annotated fig 19A below) provided in the header tanks,
wherein a plurality of paths (through the plurality of tubes) is sequentially disposed in the core region by the plurality of baffles, and a bypass valve (502), which selectively bypasses some of the plurality of paths, communicates with one side or two sides of the pair of header tanks (fig 19B).
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Regarding claim 2, Brodie further discloses a receiver dryer (506), wherein the bypass valve (502) is opened or closed depending on a temperature (desired temperature of the user which determines whether the system is cooling moder or heating mode).
Regarding claim 3, Brodie further discloses wherein one receiver side bypass valve (502) is provided as the bypass valve, the refrigerant does not pass through the receiver dryer (506) when the receiver side bypass valve is closed (fig 19A), and the refrigerant passes through the receiver dryer when the receiver side bypass valve is opened (fig 19B).
Regarding claim 4, Brodie further discloses wherein the receiver side bypass valve (502) is provided above the receiver dryer (506).
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) 5-11 and 13-14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Brodie as applied to claim 2 above, and further in view of Park et al. (Korean Patent Publication KR20220083876A, “Park”).
Regarding claim 5, Brodie discloses all previous claim limitations. Brodie further discloses wherein a receiver side bypass valve, the refrigerant does not pass through the receiver dryer when the receiver side bypass valve, and a part of the refrigerant passes through the receiver dryer and the remaining part of the refrigerant passes only through a part of the heat exchanger when the receiver side bypass valve. However, Brodie does not explicitly disclose a second bypass valve in the form of a flow port side bypass valve. Park, however, discloses a heat exchanger (figs 2 and 3) wherein a second valve (150) is a flow port side bypass valve wherein the refrigerant does not pass through the receiver dryer (140) when the flow port side bypass valve is closed (fig 2) and a part of the refrigerant passes through the receiver dryer and the remaining part of the refrigerant passes only through a part of the heat exchanger when the flow port side bypass valve is opened (fig 3). It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention for Brodie to provide the flow port side bypass valve of Park in order to remove refrigerant paths from the flow and thus improve heating performance (see ¶0037-0044).
Regarding claim 6, the combination of Brodie and Park discloses all previous claim limitations. Brodie, as modified, further discloses wherein the receiver side bypass valve (502, Brodie) is provided above the receiver dryer (506, fig 19A, Brodie), and the flow port side bypass valve (150, Park) is provided between an inlet port and an outlet port formed in the header tank (at least in relation to the flow of the refrigerant).
Regarding claim 7, the combination of Brodie and Park discloses all previous claim limitations. Brodie further discloses first and second header tanks (see annotated fig 19A below); an inlet port (see annotated fig 19A below) provided in the first header tank so that the refrigerant is introduced through the inlet port;
an outlet port (see annotated fig 19A below) provided in the first header tank so that the refrigerant is discharged through the outlet port;
a first baffle (see annotated fig 19A below) provided in the first header tank at a position between the inlet port and the outlet port (relative to the flow of refrigerant);
a second baffle (see annotated fig 19A below) provided in the second header tank at a position between the first baffle and the outlet port (relative to the flow of refrigerant);
However, Brodie does not explicitly disclose a third baffle provided in the first header tank at a position between the second baffle and the outlet port;
a fourth baffle provided in the second header tank at the same position as the third baffle, wherein a region separated by the first baffle defines the first path, wherein a region between the first baffle and the second baffle defines the second path, wherein a region between the second baffle and the third and fourth baffles defines the third path, wherein a region separated by the third and fourth baffles defines the fourth path, wherein the inlet port is formed at a position that communicates with the first path, and wherein the outlet port is formed at a position that communicates with the fourth path.
Park, however, discloses a heat exchanger (figs 4 and 5) having a third baffle (110b) provided in a first header tank (110) at a position between a second baffle (120a) and an outlet port (251, relative to the flow of refrigerant);
a fourth baffle (120b) provided in a second header tank (120) at the same position as the third baffle (relative to the vertical height), wherein a region separated by a first baffle (110a) defines the first path (130a), wherein a region between the first baffle and a second baffle (120a) defines the second path (130c), wherein a region between the second baffle and the third and fourth baffles defines the third path (130d), wherein a region separated by the third and fourth baffles defines the fourth path (130e), wherein an inlet port (140a) is formed at a position that communicates with the first path, and wherein the outlet port is formed at a position that communicates with the fourth path (fig 4). It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention for Brodie to provide the baffles of park in order to provide the optimal flow length of the refrigerant and maximize the efficiency of the heat exchanger.
Regarding claim 8, the combination of Brodie and Park discloses all previous claim limitations. Brodie, as modified, further discloses a receiver dryer (506) connected to any one header tank (110, Park) and configured to receive the refrigerant having passed through the first (130a, Park), second (130c, Park), and third paths (130e, Park), separate the refrigerant into a gaseous refrigerant and a liquid refrigerant, and discharge the liquid refrigerant to the fourth path (130d, Park), wherein the bypass valve (502, Brodie) is configured to be opened or closed depending on a refrigerant temperature, wherein the bypass valve is closed as a temperature of the refrigerant becomes a relatively high temperature in a cooling mode, and wherein the bypass valve is opened as a temperature of the refrigerant becomes a relatively low temperature in a heating mode (as the refrigerant is allowed to condense in the heating mode).
Regarding claim 9, the combination of Brodie and Park discloses all previous claim limitations. Brodie further discloses wherein one receiver side bypass valve (502) is provided as the bypass valve, wherein when the receiver side bypass valve is provided, the heat exchanger comprises: a receiver side bypass port (see annotated fig 19A below) provided in the second header tank (see annotated fig 19A below); and a receiver side bypass path (see annotated fig 19A below) connected to the receiver side bypass valve and configured to allow the refrigerant to bypass the path when the receiver side bypass path is opened.
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Regarding claim 10, the combination of Brodie and Park discloses all previous claim limitations. Brodie, as modified, further discloses wherein one receiver side bypass valve (502, Brodie) is provided as the bypass valve, the receiver side bypass valve is provided above the receiver dryer (506, Brodie), and the refrigerant passing through the first path is supplied to flow to the receiver dryer and pass through the fourth path (130e, Park) when the receiver side bypass valve is opened.
Regarding claim 11, the combination of Brodie and Park discloses all previous claim limitations. Brodie, as modified, further discloses wherein the receiver side bypass port (see annotated fig 19A above, Brodie) is formed at a position that communicates with the first path (130A, Park) on the second header tank, and the receiver side bypass path (502, Brodie) connects the receiver side bypass valve and the receiver dryer.
Regarding claim 13, the combination of Brodie and Park discloses all previous claim limitations. Brodie, as modified, further discloses wherein a receiver side bypass valve, wherein the receiver side bypass valve is provided above the receiver dryer wherein a part of the refrigerant having passed through the first path flows to the receiver dryer and passes through the fourth path when the receiver side bypass valve is opened. However, Brodie does not explicitly disclose a flow port side bypass valve is provided as the two bypass valves, wherein the flow port side bypass valve is provided between the inlet port and the outlet port, and wherein the remaining part of the refrigerant having passed through the first path is supplied to pass through the second path and be discharged through the flow port side bypass valve when the flow port side bypass valve is opened. Park, however, discloses a heat exchanger (figs 2 and 3) a flow port side bypass valve (150) is provided as a second bypass valve, wherein the flow port side bypass valve is provided between an inlet port (140a) and an outlet port (140b), and wherein the remaining part of the refrigerant having passed through a first path is supplied to pass through the second path and be discharged through the flow port side bypass valve when the flow port side bypass valve is opened (fig 3). It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention for Brodie to provide the flow port side bypass valve of Park in order to remove refrigerant paths from the flow and thus improve heating performance (see ¶0037-0044).
Regarding claim 14, the combination of Brodie and Park discloses all previous claim limitations. Brodie, as modified, further discloses wherein the flow port side bypass port (150, Park) is formed at a position that communicates with the second path (130c, Park) on the first header tank, wherein a flow port side bypass path (130d, Park) connects the flow port side bypass valve (150, Park) and the outlet port (140b), wherein the receiver side bypass port is positioned at a position that communicates with the first path on the second header tank, and wherein the receiver side bypass path connects the receiver side bypass valve (502, Brodie) and the receiver dryer (506, Brodie).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 12 and 15 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
The prior art does not teach the limitations of the claims 12 and 15, specifically, when in a heating mode wherein the heat exchanger acts as evaporator, a receiver side bypass valve and a flow port side bypass are opened such that refrigerant only passes through a first and fourth path of the heat exchanger.
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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/HARRY E ARANT/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3763
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