DETAILED ACTION
This is the first Office action on the merits of Application No. 18/910,314. Claims 1-14 are pending.
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
Claims 5, 7, and 12 are objected to because of the following informalities:
in claim 5, line 3, the phrase “with inlet” appears it should be –with the inlet—to better correspond with the inlet from claim 4;
in claim 7, the claim refers to “the first open end”, “the front section”, the second open end” etc., thus the dependency of this claim appears it should not be claim 1 and should be amended to –claim 5— (or alternatively claim 6). For the purposes of indicating allowable subject matter below this will be interpreted as dependent on claim 5 (or 6); and
in claim 12, line 3, the phrase “with respective inlet” appears it should be –with the respective inlet—to better correspond with the inlet from claim 11
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 1-2, 8-9, and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Vacca (US Patent Publication 20170043659).
Regarding claim 1, Vacca discloses a vehicle, comprising: a pair of vehicle structural members (Fig. 5, e.g. via 20) positioned at a front of a vehicle body (Fig. 1); at least one cross-bar member (protection beam 16) connecting the pair of vehicle structural members; and an HVAC module (5) including a heat exchanger (12) and an air guide assembly (e.g. 7) configured to direct ambient air from the front of the vehicle body toward the heat exchanger, wherein the air guide assembly includes a pair of side panels connected to a lower panel upon which the heat exchanger rests (Fig. 3), the at least one cross-bar member at least partially obstructs air flow to the heat exchanger (Figs. 1-2), and the lower panel includes at least one duct (duct 9) that directs air around (e.g. via 19) the at least one cross-bar member to areas of the heat exchanger that are at least partially obstructed by the at least one cross-bar member (Fig. 2).
Regarding claim 2, Vacca discloses the vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the lower panel includes a plurality of the ducts (grilles 4 form the plurality of ducts).
Regarding claim 8, Vacca discloses the vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the pair of side panels each include an aperture configured for receipt of the at least one cross-bar member (Figs. 2-4).
Regarding claim 9, Vacca discloses a vehicle, comprising: a pair of vehicle structural members (Fig. 5, e.g. via 20) positioned at a front of a vehicle body (Fig. 1); at least one cross-bar member (protection beam 16) connecting the pair of vehicle structural members; and an HVAC module (5) including a heat exchanger (12) and an air guide assembly (e.g. 7) configured to direct ambient air from the front of the vehicle body toward the heat exchanger, wherein the air guide assembly includes a pair of side panels connected to a lower panel upon which the heat exchanger rests (Fig. 3), the at least one cross-bar member at least partially obstructs air flow to the heat exchanger (Fig. 1), and the lower panel includes a plurality of ducts (grilles 4 form the plurality of ducts) that each direct air around (e.g. via 19) the at least one cross-bar member to areas of the heat exchanger that are at least partially obstructed by the at least one cross-bar member (Fig. 2).
Regarding claim 14, Vacca discloses the vehicle according to claim 9, wherein the pair of side panels each include an aperture configured for receipt of the at least one cross-bar member (Figs. 2-4).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-7 and 10-13 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.
As allowable subject matter has been indicated, applicant's reply must either comply with all formal requirements or specifically traverse each requirement not complied with. See 37 CFR 1.111(b) and MPEP § 707.07(a).
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding claim 3, the prior art does not disclose or render obvious the vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the lower panel includes a front section that is connected to a first downwardly extending section, a middle section connected to the first downwardly extending section, a second downwardly extending section connected to the middle section, and a rear section connected to the second downwardly extending section, in combination with the other elements required by claim 1.
Regarding claim 10, the prior art does not disclose or render obvious the vehicle wherein the lower panel includes a front section that is connected to a first downwardly extending section, a middle section connected to the first downwardly extending section, a second downwardly extending section connected to the middle section, and a rear section connected to the second downwardly extending section, in combination with the other elements required by claim 1.
The closest prior art, Vacca (US Patent Publication 20170043659), discloses the lower panel, but does not disclose the three sections, with two downwardly extending sections and it would not have been obvious to have modified based on the arrangement of Vecca and in part due to the location of the beam being in the middle.
Claims 4-7 and 11-13 are allowable for being dependent on an allowable claim.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Favaretto (US Patent Publication 20240351399) discloses an HVAC module (60), heat exchanger (10), cross-bar member (90), and duct (94’, 95’) that is part of the spars and the spars are fixed to the crossbar thus air is directed through the cross-bar member, but does not disclose the lower panel includes at least one duct that directs air around the at least one cross-bar member to areas of the heat exchanger that are at least partially obstructed by the at least one cross-bar member.
Merulla (US Patent Publication 20240278635) discloses a cross-bar member (11), heat exchanger (radiator 12), and duct (50), and at least one duct that directs air around the at least one cross-bar member to areas of the heat exchanger that are at least partially obstructed by the at least one cross-bar member, but does not disclose an HVAC module or air guide assembly and thus the lower panel of the air guide assembly can’t include the duct.
Beckley (US Patent Publication 20040212211) discloses a HVAC module (25), at least one cross-bar member (upper beam 12 and lower beam 28) connecting the pair of vehicle structural members (a-pillars), heat exchanger (part of 25 see Fig. 1). There are ducts (26a-d) on the upper location and near the lower side is passageway (71) neither of these element meet the entirety of the limitations of the at least one cross-bar member at least partially obstructs air flow to the heat exchanger, and the lower panel includes at least one duct that directs air around the at least one cross-bar member to areas of the heat exchanger that are at least partially obstructed by the at least one cross-bar member
Moradnia (US Patent Publication 20220297530) discloses a duct and heat exchange arrangement.
Ino (US Patent Publication 20060254838) discloses cooling device for a vehicle with air guided lower.
Henson (US Patent Publication 20210001715) discloses a duct (2) and heat exchanger (8,10), but does not disclose limitations related to the cross-bar.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LORI WU whose telephone number is (469)295-9111. The examiner can normally be reached Tues-Thurs 8:00-5:00 CST.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Ernesto Suarez can be reached at (571) 270-5565. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/LORI WU/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3655
Prosecution Insights